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SoftBank Group has agreed to acquire DigitalBridge, a U.S.-based investor in data center and telecom infrastructure, for about $4 billion, the latest move in Masayoshi Son’s artificial intelligence-fueled dealmaking spree.
Son, the Japanese conglomerate’s founder and chief executive, is firmly betting that AI will revolutionize business and society as well as SoftBank’s growth prospects.
At the center of that effort is a huge investment in OpenAI, as well as SoftBank’s alliance with database group Oracle and others on a massive AI infrastructure project called Stargate, which will provide computing power for the ChatGPAT creator.
DigitalBridge manages more than $100 billion of assets including data centers, cellular telecom towers and fiber-optic cable networks.
Sun said the acquisition will “strengthen the foundation of next-generation AI data centers” as it pursues what it calls “artificial super intelligence.”
“As AI transforms industries around the world, we need more computing, connectivity, power and scalable infrastructure,” Son said.
“Building AI infrastructure represents one of the most significant investment opportunities of our generation,” said Mark Ganzi, chief executive of DigitalBridge.
An experienced telecom industry dealmaker, Ganzi previously founded Global Tower Partners, a US telecom infrastructure group, which was sold for $4.8 billion in 2013.
SoftBank plans to acquire DigitalBridge for $16 a share in cash, 15 percent more than its closing price on Friday, the companies said. The deal gives DigitalBridge an enterprise value of approximately $4 billion, including debt.
DigitalBridge was founded in 1991 under the name Colony Capital by Tom Barrack, an early financial backer of US President Donald Trump.
Barrack, who now serves as the US Ambassador to Türkiye, oversaw the acquisition of data center investor Digital Bridge for $325mn in 2019. He stepped down as executive chairman in 2021 and the company changed its name to DigitalBridge as it moved away from traditional real estate to focus on digital infrastructure investments.
The deal is expected to be completed in the second half of 2026, if it receives the necessary regulatory approvals. The companies said Ganzi will continue to run DigitalBridge as a “separately managed platform.”
SoftBank’s shares are set to nearly double in value through 2025 as Sun’s AI dealmaking accelerates. However, the stock has lost a third of its value over the past two months amid concerns about a bubble in the AI sector and SoftBank’s ability to finance its huge investment in OpenAI. In early November, SoftBank sold its entire stake in AI chip maker Nvidia for $5.8 billion to finance its deal.
SoftBank Chief Financial Officer Yoshimitsu Goto said last month that the group would need to “sell our existing portfolio” to invest more than the estimated $30 billion in OpenAI.
But this has not stopped Son’s dealmaking. SoftBank agreed to a $5.4 billion deal to buy ABB’s robotics arm in October and has discussed expanding its investment in UK-based autonomous driving start-up Wave, the Financial Times reported. In the latest display of his alliance with Trump, Son also agreed to invest $2 billion in troubled Silicon Valley chipmaker Intel.
Large investment firms have focused on building their data center portfolios to join the AI boom, given the difficulty of building these portfolios from scratch, many investors are ultimately buying out specialist data center owners.
Private investment group Ares completed the acquisition of the international arm of property developer GLP Capital Partners earlier this year, just months after rival Blue Owl bought digital infrastructure investor IPI Partners.
